5 Things I’ve Bought That I Effing Love

In recent months I’ve stocked up on some basics that I’ve been hankering after for ages. They’re quality items, around $80 to $150 and I can’t recommend them highly enough. No buyer’s remorse to be seen here.

I’ve been searching for months for a pair of plain black ballet flats with a decent sole and I was willing to drop a little coin on them. Finally one Saturday afternoon I stumbled upon these little beauties at Midas. The girl behind the counter said they have a ‘pavement pounding’ sole. I jumped up and down and said ‘I’M A PAVEMENT POUNDER!!! Do you want to see my FitBit?‘ and then I realised she didn’t know what I was talking about and I was officially being weird. So I just bought the shoes and left… but they’re awesome. Really comfortable and indeed you can pound the pavement in them.

* RECOMMENDATION RETRACTION: After owning these shoes for just 2 months one of them wore a hole right through the sole. I went back to Midas to exchange the shoes and they were unwilling to offer an exchange or refund on the grounds that it was ‘normal wear and tear’. I’m un-recommending them as I expect a lot more than 2 months wear out of shoes that cost $150. I will also no longer be supporting Midas. As a long-term and loyal buyer of their shoes I’m really disappointed in their customer service and will not waste any more money on their products.

I first saw Uashmama bags in Spacecraft on Gertrude St and could not stop stroking them. They’re made of washable paper that feels like leather. It’s like science and design had a classy baby. Anyway, all the bags they stock are white. They’re gorgeous but because I’m a little grub I need something a bit darker to cover up my chocolate and red wine stains, so I visited the website and bought one of these babies. It arrived yesterday and I love it. It’s massive so I can fit my laptop in it but it’s really light as well so it doesn’t add to the weight of all the crap I lug around with me everywhere. They have so much awesome stuff so visit their site – link in the heading.

These are actually men’s sunglasses but Mr Smags has had a pair for a few years and absolutely swears by them. I was sick and tired of paying $200 for plastic fashion sunglasses with a brand name on them so I bit the bullet and bought a pair of their simple aviators with mirror finish and bright chrome. With a discount voucher they cost me $130 including shipping and I love them. They’re super slim so they can fit in my small hand bags and I’ve had no less than four people call me a rock star while I’ve been wearing them. Money well spent.

* 2nd Edit: I asked Mr Smaggle to proof read this post before I published it and he said ‘Um… maybe you should mention that they’re US Military issue sunglasses for Top Gun pilots and NASA astronauts. I think your readers would want to know that they could fucking fly INTO SPACE wearing these sunglasses. Okay? And Don Draper and Johnny Depp and Ewan McGregor wear them too. They are extremely cool sunglasses.’ Got that guys? These sunglasses are EXTREMELY cool.

* 3rd Edit: After checking the 2nd edit he said this: ‘They’re OFFICIAL US Military issue. There’s a difference.’ I think you all need to buy some Randolphs or Mr Smaggle is going to lose his shit.

This isn’t the exact skirt I have (mine is longer and little less ruched) but I’ve had my eye on it for years. I finally stopped by the Bridge Road discount outlet and it was 40% off. Sold. Best. Purchase. Ever.

I’ve had my eye on these for years and I finally bought them in January. I got mine on Amazon (for about $160 including postage) and they were an excellent purchase. I’m in the process of wearing them in but I’m so close to being able to wear them all day. They go with practically everything. I think I’m going to get some of their ankle boots for winter too.

What have you bought recently that you love? Links in the comments please!

About Carly Jacobs

Carly is the founding editor of Smaggle which launched in 2007 back when blogging was weird. She has appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Cosmopolitan and Cleo magazines. Hoop earrings are totally her thing and she almost got run over by Myf Warhurst while out jogging one day.

Let’s see: * Booties from Ecoo. I just love that brand, all their shoes are so comfortable. * My sports bra from Panache. * My hot water bottle. It’s just a normal one, but I really like going to bed with it. * My menstruation cup. I’ll never ever go back to pads or tampons, they seem so disgusting in retrospect.

Ooooh I love this post. Ummmm…I can’t think what I’ve bought…I did get a $70 tangerine Country Road Dress at DFO but I’m not that in love with it. I do highly recommend buying some Jasmine Dowling typography. She made me 3 custom prints for my office and I LOVE THEM.

I just bought some timberland boots to wear around Japan and they’re so yellow and stompy and I LOVE them. my husband was getting shoes too and it was frustrating me how men’s shoes are all like ‘it’s got all these technologies and the best leather and waterproofing and stress tested and you can climb Everest in them and they’re basically magic’ and women’s shoes are like ‘well we just kind of glued some fake leather to a plastic sole so they won’t do much but aren’t they pretty?’ (your pavement pounding shoes reminded me of this rant). so YEP I’m excited to finally have some properly made shoes and I’ve been stomping around the house in them all week.

Ohh. So going to get me in trouble. I want the shoes in the taupe. Love that they have embossing on parts. What have I bought. Harem pants to wear around the house when I work from home so i don’t stay in my pjs. A beauty gift voucher because someone somewhere would have wanted me to. A lovely hydrating face mask by SK -II.. and an Audrey 3 movie set because I can.

– New underpants. Bonds online had a sale so I bought 9 pairs. NINE. Threw out all my old ones which were a size too small and awful and stretched. Amazing.

– New socks. Ditto the above — Bonds Outlet online had 42 pairs of socks for $50. Bought them and split them with my friends. I now have 14 pairs of socks. TWO WEEKS OF SOCKS. Yesss.

– I’m a men’s wallet kinda lady, and my last beautiful wallet from Cheddar Pocket was getting on, so I got this beautiful one from Orchill: http://orchill.com/product/magic-greygreen/ I stroke the embossing on it all the time.

I am looking for good quality basic tees: long sleeves, short sleeves and all in between. I am on the prowl for a soft clutch to go in a nappy bag so I don’t have my shit hanging around the bottom of a cavernous black bag. Also, nursing bras that don’t make me look like I forgot I live in 2014. I am semi-successful on the basic tee front….

Wow, the Midas shoes look like the exact thing I’ve been trying to find. I’m going to Europe in July and want to get some summer shoes while I can but anything that isn’t as ugly as a bucket of assholes.

On the Europe thing, the best thing I bought lately was a ticket for a tour that gets you into the Sistine Chapel 90 minutes before it opens to the public! I actually had to think about that for a couple of days then was like – why am I even thinking about this? This is what travel is about… doing the special things.

So far I’m loving there three new items I bought on the new vintage/designer clothes swap/sell Facebook community Raid My Closet. I got a great Gorman top, Karen Walker dress and & Metalicus dress; Bargain! I’ve also listed some items for sale so effectively I’m buying for free! The link is https://www.facebook.com/groups/660143950696111/ I love that it’s free (no Ebay fees) and sustainable